Eggs taste great, they are super easy to make, packed with protein, and make for the perfect breakfast meal… But all this goodness can be ruined if you get diarrhea after eating them. It doesn't matter how good they taste, how easy they are to make, how packed with protein they are… Diarrhea ruins it all and more.
Maybe have come to the conclusion yourself that eggs give you diarrhea after experiencing such an unwanted condition many times after eating them, or maybe this is a one time deal… Either way you need to get to the bottom of it.
A briefing on diarrhea..
You know you have diarrhea when you're running to the toilet frequently throughout the day because you are experiencing something along the lines of: an upset stomach, bloating, and of course loose and watery stools.
Eggs were supposed to be the healthy meal to help you stay in shape, or maybe get back in shape, but they have pulled you in the opposite direction… With the diarrhea you are experiencing you might be becoming dehydrated from the loss of liquids as well as weak from nutrients not absorbed.
Getting diarrhea after eating eggs is something that is much more uncommon to the majority of people out there, but it does happen and here are a handful reasons they could be the cause…
4 Reasons That Eggs Could Be The Cause
1. Egg intolerance
It it is possible that you get diarrhea after eating eggs because your body is intolerant to such. The reason for this would be a lack of an enzyme that is required to break down the eggs during digestion. Symptoms like low energy levels, headaches, joint pain and diarrhea could show up right away or it could be days later after consumption, which just makes it harder to pinpoint whether or not this is the problem.
The good news is that you can actually become tolerant to eggs if you suffer from intolerance. What you want to do is quit eating eggs for a while and then very slowly introduce them back into your diet.
2. Egg allergy
If you have an egg allergy then the proteins are to blame, and we all know that eggs are abundant in protein. Basically what is happening here is your body is reacting to the egg protein(s) as if they are some threat. The immune system perceives them as unwanted harmful intruders and begins to mount an attack, although they pose no harm in the first place.
Side effects if you are allergic include things like rashes, runny nose, sneezing, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, and even possibly anaphylaxis. This can be a pretty serious condition depending on your level of allergy. Even the smallest contact with eggs could cause problems.
3. Eggs have zero fiber
If you have ever read about healthy bowel movements before, then you probably heard that you need fiber… And unfortunately eggs don't provide any. Eggs have exactly 0g of fiber (source: USDA). It doesn't matter how many you eat, you won't be getting any.
Now this definitely is not necessarily a bad thing, because you should be eating a balanced diet anyhow and getting plenty of fiber from other sources. However, for people that already lack a sufficient intake of dietary fiber, this might further throw off the ratio of fiber to nonfiber and could lead to loose stools and diarrhea… Or even constipation on the other side of the spectrum, depending on what your diet looks like.
4. Salmonella (and other bacteria) contamination
Getting diarrhea after eating eggs could also be due to bacterial contamination, such as that from the popular salmonella.
You should always wash your eggs before eating them, but this will not always make a difference. Salmonella can be what you call "foodborne", which means that it can live and grow inside a perfectly intact egg. It can also live on the outside which is why simply washing is the first thing you should be doing to prevent contact with such bacteria.
This is no small problem. The FDA estimates that there are around 79,000 cases of people getting this kind of food poisoning from eggs each year in the US alone. Symptoms such as cramps and diarrhea usually come around after 12 hours post consumption, but this can vary greatly.
The solution: the most you can do is to wash your eggs and cook them thoroughly… As in no runny yolks.
But Are They Really The Ones to Blame?
As mentioned earlier, most people are going to have any problems eating eggs. You have a much higher chance of reaping the health benefits without the frequent bathroom visits.
However, if you are fairly certain that they are the cause of your diarrhea, and this could be due to the hand for reasons discussed above.
You also may want to look into the other ingredients that you are mixing in with your eggs, if any. People often scramble eggs with the addition of milk and cheese, which are two foods that cause diarrhea among some people fairly commonly.
Where to Go From Here?
If severe or lasting for several days on end, you may want to go see a doctor because it sounds like it could be pretty serious.
One thing you can do to really get to the bottom of things is to cut eggs out of your diet and see where that takes you. This is basically like an elimination diet… What you are doing is eliminating the potential culprit of your diarrhea and seeing if the problem persists or stops. If you find that the eggs are the ones to blame, then another approach you can take is to try eating different kinds of eggs, such as duck eggs. Duck eggs are similar in many ways to the common chicken eggs that you are probably eating, but they differ as well and it is possible that one could cause diarrhea but not the other.
Have diarrhea right now or just feel like knowing how to stop it if it comes? Check out our list of foods that help. Note: eggs are on the list because most people don't have any problem with them and they provide a nice smooth source of nutrition.
I have issues with slightly undercooked eggs, so I generally scramble the eggs and do not experience the diarrhea or cramping. Main problem in eating eggs out is they are generally cooked on a hot griddle and get done on outside but can be runny on inside. This is another reason to ask for hard yokes or scrambled to avoid being sick.
l eat a lot of e ggs, cooked any which way , l like the runny yolks to wipe up with toast , scrammbled , boiled , no matter , l live with diarehia every day
my problem is I LIKE undercooked eggs. I have scrambled eggs and fried eggs very runny.
It is at the moment only soft boiled eggs then after- gosh!!!
Does the white have a particular bug to which I am intolerant.
I can eat hard boiled eggs and or egg mayo
I used to get violently sick when I ate eggs . It seemed to be the yolk. One day I found out that probiotics my sole my problem. After I started taking them every day I decided to try some eggs again. At first I made sure they were well cooked and to my surprise I didn’t get sick. I continued to try different ways of cooking eggs but always cooked them well. After a couple of months of being on the probiotics I ate a sunny side up egg with a runny yolk and was so excited that I didn’t get sick. Make sure you choose a probiotic with the most strains and active organisms
My problem is about 10-12 hours after eating egg I get severe stomach pain, this continues until extreme diarrhea sets in and usually vomiting. Eating something with egg in it, like cake, will cause diarrhea but not vomiting. This went on for years before I figured out it was eggs. I sure miss them, I love them.
Nope, the eggs are not what negative effect my digestive tract. I ate eggs and Eggo's separately, Got the craps with Eggo's only.
I believe it has something to do with the fact Eggo's are made with a 100% genetically modified (GMO) crop according to the maker Kellogg's. Won't ever touch them again, after eating them and suffering for years and not thinking they were the problem.
Nice article and detailed well and to the point. As you said for me the eggs, which never was a problem is now a problem as I have aged. I am certain that as I have aged the enzyme that is need to digest the egg is missing. I wish I knew what enzyme that was, but either way, even after introducing again slowly I still have bouts of it with as little 1 single solo egg. Very sad, because I relied on eggs so much for my breakfast and protein being mostly a vegetarian.